[lbo-talk] Number of job seekers in Israel climbs by 3.2 percent in September

[Bryan Atinsky]

Number of job seekers climbs by 3.2 percent in September
By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent

The number of job seekers in Israel rose by 3.2
percent in September, climbing to a total of
226,797.


The rise primarily derives from the inclusion of single mothers with
children between the ages of two and seven years, who until now had been
excluded from the tally.

The Economic Arrangements Bill for 2003, however, calls for their
classification as job seekers in order for them to be eligible for state
benefits.

As a result, over 25,000 single mothers with small children were added to
the number of job seekers, as opposed to just 9,000 single
parents in this group in August.

Without taking these single parents into account, the jobless total actually
fell by 0.9 percent, to around 207,000. Despite the small
drop in the number of job seekers in September, without the single parents,
the trend for 2003 continues to show an increase in the number of job
seekers each month. The number of unemployment hotspots – communities where
at least 10 percent of the population is
unemployed – rose to a new high of 39, compared to 37 in August.